Sign for street or other cars.



Patented Oct. 2, I900.

a K I M I m T I i moron. 0. 0V

T. No. 658,76L.

L. .1. COOPER.

SIGN FOR STREET 0R OTHER CABS.

(Application filed Hat. 8, 1887.)

I (No Model.)

THE "cams pznzws co. PMuTo-Ln'vm.v WASH NITED STATES PATENT GFFIc.

LON J. COOPER, OF OOVINGTON, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR TO LYTLE J. HUNTER, OF SAME PLACE.

SIGN FOR SQTREET OR OTHER CARS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 658,761, dated October 2, 1900.

Application fil d March 8, 1897- Serial No. 626,363. (No model.)

T0 00% whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, LON J. COOPER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Covington, in the county of Kenton and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signs for Street or other Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object a very simple, economical, and effective construction for enabling a changeable sign for street-cars to beconveniently and quickly changed to indicate the desired station.

The several features of my invention and the various advantages resulting from their use, con j ointly or otherwise, will be apparent from the following description and claims.

Inasmuch as a frequent application of my invention will be to the street and other rail cars now in use, I have shown in the drawings my invention applied to the roof of such a car, and I will proceed to describe it in its application thereto.

In the accompanying drawings, making-a part of this specification, and in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a construction illustrating my invention and applied to the roof of a car, the roof being in one place broken away to allow the mechanism below the roof to be inspected. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of those parts of my invention which are located above the roof of the car, excepting the connecting-irons (usually present) for supporting my device upon the roof.

Fig. 3 is a view of the under side of the index-finger, index-detents, operating-rod, and handle. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of those devices of my invention which are located below the roof. Fig. 5 represents a vertical central section beginning at the upper side of the index-plate and extending downward through the actuating-rod and the upper portion of the cylinder or box shaft and exposing to.

view the construction th'erein,other connected parts of these devices being shown in elevation. Fig. 6 represents an end elevation of the mechanism for enabling the index-plate to be adjusted to a parallelism with the plane in which the index-finger moves and then securing the said index-plate in such position.

spring curtain-rollers.

It will be observed that Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are on a larger scale than that of Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

Aindicates the forward portion of the roof of a car, and A the front edge thereof.

B indicates a foundation or platform from which rise suitable supports 0 0. Below and just above the platform is a roller D, suitably jourualed at each end, preferably in the supports 0 0. Above is a roller E, whose axis is parallel to that of the first-named roller D. This roller E is also suitably journaled at each end, preferably in the supports 0 O, substantially as shown. The upper roller E will be relatively of greater diameter than the roller D. Between these rollers is stretched the sign X upon some flexible fabric capable of being wound upon and unwound from the rollers, as hereinafter more fully specified. This sign is intentionally made much longer than the distance between the rollers, and part of the sign is always wound upon one or the other or on both rollers, as the case may be. The sign carries the names of the streets or stations (in due sequence) which are to be indicated and which are to be reached by the car in the course of its trip or journey. The sign is to be moved in a given direction automatically and in the opposite direction by the agency of the conductor, motorman, or other person having charge of setting the sign. The automatic movement of the sign is conferred thereon by spring 4 power, and such spring-power is best obtained by a spring within the roller, constructed and arranged therein by any of the'well-known modes now well known in connection with automatic The roller E will always tend to wind up the sign X upon itself and to unwind the sign from the roller D and also to always keep the sign taut'between the rollers and in the best condition to be displayed.

G is a gear-wheel fixed on the shaft G of roller D and concentric with the latter.

H is a gear-wheel whose shaft H? is suitably journaledto wit, to the adjacent support C and meshing with the gear G.

' J is a small beveled pinion on the shaft H and fixed thereon concentric with geaiywheel H and meshing with the beveled gear-wheel K. The latter is fixed on the shaft L, journaled in or at the bottom plate B. In connection with its journal box or hearing L it (the shaft) has suitable detents for prevent.- ing any longitudinal variation from its one position. The shaft extends downward through a small closely-fitting opening L in the roof A of the car and then goes through the index-plate M. central close-fitting aperture in the top of a cylinder or box N and lower down within the box terminates in a right-angled projection L, preferably symmetrically equal on all sides of the shaft and fitting the bore of the cylinder or box. Thus thebox N is free to reciprocate along the shaft L in a constant direction concentric with the said shaft, being kept in line byits top N and the partL ofshaft L. The box N and the projection L interfit and engage each other, so that when the box N is rotated the shaft L will also be rotated to the same areal extent. This box N carries the index-finger P. The box N, with finger P, is impelled by a spring R toward the indexplate M, on the under side of which is the index. The preferred description of spring for this purpose is the coiled spring R, located within the box and between the top of the latter and projection L of the shaft L. This spring, whenever allowed to do so, thus lifts the index-finger P against the plate M. This plate M has marked thereupon those names of the stations which are upon the flexible sign X and in the same consecutive order. In place of the names of the stations suitable characters may be employed to designate these stations. In connection with the name of each station there is a projection S extending outward from the index-plate M and capable of stopping and holding the index-finger P. A handle and pull-piece T is fixed in the lower end of the box N or its extension and enables the box N, with finger P, to be drawn down and rotated.

A novel, convenient, and advantageous device for enabling the index-plate M to be held level and its plate to be parallel to the plane of rotation of the index-finger P consists of the adjusting-plate V, having therein the vertical slots V V The upper end of this plate is screwed or otherwise secured at V to the under side of the car-roof A. Set screws V V pass through the respective slots V V and engage the index-plate M or connection thereof. The opposite edge of the index-plate M is secured by screw or otherwise at A to the car-roof A. The free edge of the plate M, where the set-screws V enter it, is then moved up or down until this plate M is in the correct position-viz, so that its plane is parallel to the plane wherein the index-finger rotatesand the set-screws are then screwed forward, clamping the plate V to the plate M and making the latter stationary. This adjusting device is designed to adjust the plate M, where the roof is slanting at the place where the index-plate M is present. Such formation of the roof is quite Below this it enters a common in the roofs of the cars at the present time. WVhere the roof is horizontal at the place where the plate M is connected to the roof, the adjusting device will be omitted, and the plate M may be laid fiat against the roof and secured thereto. The base-plate B is suitably secured to the car-roof, and where the latter slants, as shown, the forward part is in the present illustrativeinstance secured to the roof and upheld thereon by the legs or braces B 13 Such last-named connection is a mere matter of benchwork and forms no part of my invention.

The mode in which my invention is operated is as follows: To commence with, the sign or curtain X is supposed to be altogether wound upon either one roller or the other, with the exception of that part of the sign which will still extend from one roller to the other. Let it be supposed that upon the larger roller E the sign has been wound. The spring in that roller tends to wind the sign thereon and elastically draw the sign from roller D. The sign carries on its outstretched and visible portion the name of a station to which the car is going-viz., to the place called Oak. At this time the indexfinger P is against the stud or detentS at the word Oak on the index-plate. As soon as Oak station is reached the sign must be changed. The operator grasping the handle T pulls it down, drawing with it the box N, compressing the coiled spring within the box and bringing the index-finger P down and away from the index-plate M, thus placing the index-finger P in a plane of rotation below the lower (outer) ends of the detents S. The operator now turns the shaft L, and thereby causes the index-finger to pass the detent S of the next station, market Vine. The operator now lightens his pull upon the handle T, whereupon the spring R moves up the box N and index-finger P in front of the said detent S at Vine, and the said detent prevents the shaft L turning back in response to the spring in roller E, tending to unroll the sign from roller D and wind it upon roller E. It will be observed that while the shaft L has been turned and the index-finger P moved from detent Oak to detent Vine the roller D has been, through the agency of the train of gear-wheels, positively rotated a given number of times and has wound upon itself a certain portion of the sign, and c0nsequently unwound a like length from the roller E. That portion of the sign which now extends between the rollers presents a new nameviz., Vine. Thus as the car proceeds on its route the operator successively brings into view on the sign the stations to be successively reached, as aforesaid, and he does this by operating the handle T in connection with the index-finger and the index plate and its indices and detents. Thus the sign will be part by part unrolled from the roller E and around roller D until all of the sign has been unrolled from the roller E. The

against the detent in front of which latter the index has been placed. When the end of the 1Ol1l36VlZ., station Main has been thus reached, the detent S of this station will hold the index-finger stationary. When the car starts to return over the same route, the operator reverses the movement of the indexfinger P, moving it. from station to station in a reverse order from that in which he moved it on the outward or first-named trip and at the same time exposing the proper and corresponding station-name on the sign X until the car has reached the original startingpointviz., Oak. The detent S at Oak is peferably much longer than at any other station and is sufficiently long to prevent the index-finger P when drawn down as far as it can be from passing it. Hence any station which might otherwise be present upon the juncture of the sign-curtain and the roller D by the too-far unwinding of the roller D will thus be prevented. The unwinding and winding of the sign is thus regulated and kept within proper limits.

It is to be understood that the letters of the sign may be transparent or translucent and,

at night be illumined by a suitable light or lights located behind them.

Other important advantages of my invention are, first, ease of adaptation to the car; secondly, economy of construction; thirdly, simplicity of action; fourthly, definiteness of action and reliability of movement and durability; fifthly, ease of manipulation, and, sixthly, my invention in its operation furnishes a construction which requires of the operator a minimum amount of thinking and of care and of attention.

What I claim as new and of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1. In a changeable sign, the combination of index-plate, shaft L, through the latter, box N on the shaft, index-finger P attached to the box near the index-plate M, handle T on lower end of box, and spring R between part of box and projection L of shaft, detents S fixed on the plate and short enough to allow the index-finger toclear them when pulled away from the index-plate, and a detent for station at the end of trip, long enough to prevent the index-finger from passing it, a sign-curtain wound on rollers, a spring for actuating one of the rollers, and mechanism for enabling the rotation of the shaft L to rotate one of the rollers in opposition to the winding-spring, substantially as and for the purposes specified. v

2. Ina changeable sign, the combination of one roller E, and spring therein, for actuating it in a given direction, a second roller D,- and a flexible sign stretched between both rollers, and having a part of it always wound upon either or both rollers, gear-wheels G, H, beveled gear J, K, shaft L fixed to the latter, index-plate M, projection L on shaft L below plate M, box N, spring R, between the top N 2 of the box or frame, and the projection L handle T fixed to the box, and detents, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination of the rollers above the platform, and flexible sign thereon, inclined roof' or street-car, shaft for connecting the means for working the sign above, and the index-plate below, and the said shaft and indeX-finger, and means for operating it, and the adjusting devices consisting of the plate V, slotted at V V and set-screws V V engaging the index-plate M, the plate V and the plate M being likewise secured and rendered stationary by the roof, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

LON J. COOPER.

Attest:

WM. E. J ONES, K. SMITH. 

